Diet's Blog (Page 12)

In one 2010 study, people who drank two cups of water before meals lost more weight than those who didn’t. Plus, drinking water can help edge out calories from calorie-laden beverages like juice, soda and even sweetened tea or coffee.Find out how much water you should drink each day.

There’s a reason they call it beauty sleep. Being sleep-deprived can affect your emotional well-being, your skin and your weight! Without enough sleep, you’re more likely to eat extra calories and reach for high-calorie food choices. Learn more about the sleep and weight connection here. Most adults need around 8 hours of sleep a night. Two things that can help you fall asleep faster: less screen time before bed and these 9 foods.

Eating more produce can help you slim down because produce is low in calories and high in fiber. In fact, vegetables were ranked as the No. 1 food to eat for weight loss by Harvard University. On a 1,500-calorie diet, you should eat 1½ cups of fruit and 2 cups of veggies. At breakfast, add sliced fruit to toast or veggies to an egg scramble. For lunch, eat a big salad or pack a wrap with baby spinach. For snacks, try grapefruit, apples or carrot sticks. And at dinner, start your meal with a bowl of vegetable soup and be sure to include produce in your meal.

1. Track your weight: The age-old advice to step on the scale at least once a week really does help boost pound-shedding success. Daily weigh-ins work, too—the important thing is that you start to notice whether the numbers are going up, down or staying the same. When you weigh yourself, you’re more likely to notice if you go up a pound or two…and not let the number keep going up. The EatingWell menu planner has a weight-tracking feature or take note in your food diary. If you’re not a fan of the scale, pay close attention to how your clothes fit to help you keep track.

2. Write what you bite: There are other tracking tools to help you keep on the right path to meeting your weight-loss goals. Try keeping a food diary to record the foods you eat...

What you eat is only part of your weight-loss success. To burn calories and fat, you need to get moving. Just as you’ve started to plan your week of meals, put exercise on your calendar. The recommended weekly amount of activity for adults is 150 minutes of moderate activity, like brisk walking, or 75 minutes of more vigorous activity like running, plus at least two strength-training sessions. Just 10 minutes at a time is enough to get the benefits of exercise (and we can all find 10 minutes in our schedules). Make a walking date with a friend, or try a new class at your gym. Committing to exercise is the first step to making it happen. Find more tips and tools for exercising here.